Card Number 12, Pauline Hall, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-4) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes 1880s

W. Duke, Sons & Co. created this promotional card for Cameo Cigarettes as part of the "Actors and Actresses" series. These cards emerged during a transformative period in American culture, when industrialization, urbanization, and new forms of mass media reshaped social life. Cards like these reflect the intersection of entertainment, consumer culture, and celebrity. Actresses like Pauline Hall were among the first to navigate the public sphere, and this card presents her as both an ideal of femininity and a vehicle for marketing. In an era of increasing visual culture, such images helped to blur the lines between public and private life, contributing to the construction of modern celebrity. Hall’s image, reproduced and circulated widely, invites us to consider the power dynamics inherent in representation. It prompts us to reflect on the role of women in society, as well as the ways in which consumer culture shapes our perceptions.